Intonation Patterns Research Articles

Pitch changes as the marker of a phrase edge in standard Lithuanian

In many languages, pitch changes at phrase edges are often described as significant cues of juncture. The aim of this study is to analyse pitch changes at the beginning and end of declarative phrases in standard Lithuanian. The study consists of two parts: 1) a pilot study analysing whether the F0 difference is a reliable measure to determine the F0 rise/fall at the end of declarative phrasesand whether such a difference depends on the speaker’s sex; 2) an annotated speech corpus analysis on the tendencies of pitch changes at phrase edges. The pilot study showed that in phrases with a rising F0 at the end, the F0 mean of the last stressed syllable is significantly lower than F0 at the end of a phrase. In phrases with a falling F0, the F0 mean of the last stressed syllable is significantly higher than the F0 at the end of a phrase. The F0 difference is a reliable measure to determine the F0 rise or fall at the end of a phrase, and all the abovementioned tendencies were found in both male and female speakers’ recordings. The annotated speech corpus analysis revealed that both intonational and intermediate phrases usually begin and end in a low tone. Hence, the high and rising or falling tones at the beginning or end of a phrase are the marked members of the phrase edge tone system, and they can help identify phrase junctures. However, it is important to pay attention to other acoustic features such as pauses and intensity, as well as grammatical and semantic aspects.

Sydney Speaks corpus: An overview

ABSTRACT Sydney Speaks is a sociolinguistic project exploring variation and change in Australian English. The Sydney Speaks corpus combines two legacy sub-corpora recorded in the 1970s and 1980s (Barbara Horvath’s Sydney Social Dialect Survey and the NSW Bicentennial Oral History Collection) with a contemporary sub-corpus, recorded from 2015 to the present (the ANU Corpus of Sydney Speech). Recordings come from oral histories and sociolinguistic interviews with 265 Sydneysiders, born from 1889 to 2001, stratified according to age, social class, gender and ethnicity. To date, approximately 120 h (1.2 million words) have been transcribed and time aligned at both the utterance and segment level. The corpus makes a unique contribution to the study of ethnic variation: as a longitudinal corpus, it facilitates real-time exploration of ethnic variation, allowing questions around the longevity of ethnolects to be answered; the class stratification of the data allows for consideration of the intersection between class and ethnicity; transcriptions that are time aligned at the level of the Intonation Unit and at the level of the segment allow for analyses of phonetic, morphosyntactic and discourse features; and the content of the interviews both provides contextualization for the linguistic patterns observed and sheds light on Australia’s history.

Comparative Study of Myofascial Exercise and the Voluntary Breathing Technique on the Apnea-Hypopnea Index Among Adolescents.

Background Myofunctional therapy has shown promise in addressing sleep-disordered breathing. This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of myofascial exercise and voluntary breathing techniques in reducing the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) among adolescents. Methodology In this randomized controlled study, adolescents aged 13-18 with sleep-disordered breathing were randomly assigned to one of three groups (n=40 per group): myofascial exercise, voluntary breathing techniques, and a standard care control group. Baseline assessments, including the AHI and sleep quality, were conducted before the interventions. A polysomnography (PSG) sleep study was performed in a sleep laboratory, with recordings conducted over six to eight hours during the night to calculate the AHI. The myofascial exercise and voluntary breathing technique groups received their respective interventions, while the control group received standard care. Post-intervention assessments were conducted to measure changes in AHI and other outcomes. Results The study found no significant differences in age, BMI, and gender among the three groups. However, significant differences were observed in AHI and sleep quality measures. The control group's AHI was 8.72 ± 1.78, whereas the myofascial exercise group (4.82 ± 1.42) and the voluntary breathing group (6.81 ± 1.83) exhibited more substantial reductions (p < 0.001). Similarly, while baseline sleep quality scores did not differ, significant improvements were observed in all groups post-intervention, with more substantial enhancements in the myofascial exercise (4.38 ± 1.19) and voluntary breathing (7.23 ± 1.76) groups. The analysis of baseline AHI categories revealed no significant differences, but at follow-up, significant variations emerged among the groups, indicating greater reductions in AHI categories in the myofascial exercise and voluntary breathing groups compared to the control group. Conclusion These findings indicate that incorporating myofascial exercises or voluntary breathing techniques into treatment plans for adolescents with sleep-disordered breathing can result in significant improvements in AHI and overall sleep quality.

Effect of Short-term Deep Breathing Exercises on Perioperative Anxiety and Pain in Pediatric Orthopedic Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial

PurposeThere are currently no pediatric studies examining the effects of deep breathing on perioperative pain and anxiety. This study sought to determine the effect of short-term deep breathing exercises on perioperative anxiety and pain in pediatric patients and their parents. DesignA randomized controlled trial was conducted in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery where pediatric patients about to undergo surgery were allocated to a control group or a deep breathing group. In the intervention group, patients and their main guardian were guided to practice 10 minutes of deep breathing exercises twice a day for 3 to 4 days prior to surgery. Perioperative anxiety and pain were measured for both the children and parents as outcome indicators. MethodsPerioperative anxiety was measured using the modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale-Short Form (mYPAS-SF) and state anxiety was measured using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Patients reported their pain levels daily using the Wong-Baker FACES Pain Rating Scale. The following cutoffs were determined as high levels of anxiety: STAI (adult) > 44, STAI (child) > 36, and mYPAS-SF ≥ 30. FindingsNo significant differences were found in the STAI, mYPAS-SF, and Wong-Baker FACES Pain Rating Scale scores of the patients between the intervention and control group. Overall statistics showed that parents had significantly higher postoperative state anxiety levels toward female children (44.93 ± 9.01) compared to male children (40.18 ± 9.89). Preoperative and postoperative parental state anxiety levels were correlated with the child’s postoperative anxiety. Furthermore, children’s postoperative state anxiety was slightly correlated with postoperative pain. ConclusionsShort-term use of our deep breathing exercises was ineffective in reducing incidences of perioperative pain and anxiety in pediatric orthopedic patients. A longer period of deep breathing administration may be required for the intervention to be effective. Parental anxiety may have an effect on anxiety levels in children, and postoperative parental anxiety may be affected by the gender of the child.

Comparing the Effect of Pursed Lip Breathing and Diaphragmatic Breathing on Pulmonary Function and Exercise Frequency in COPD Patients

Background: COPD is a disease having both pulmonary and extra-pulmonary consequences , a curable but avoidable condition that frequently results in serious difficulties for patients. Its hallmark is a progressive and permanent limiting of airflow brought on by long-term lung inflammation brought on by a variety of dangerous particles or gases. The GOLD strategy highlights the importance of a post-bronchodilator FEV1/FVC ratio &lt; 0.7 and stresses spirometry as the cornerstone for diagnosis. With the help of this criteria-driven method, COPD can be accurately identified and managed in accordance with medical recommendations. Objectives: The aim of study was to investigate the effect of pursed lip breathing exercise and effect of diaphragmatic breathing in COPD patients and also to check improvement of pulmonary function and exercise frequency. Methods: The study was Quasi experimental in which purposive sampling technique was done from COPD patients from DHQ and General hospital, Faisalabad after meeting inclusion criteria. The study duration was 6 months.Forty individuals with COPD wasdivided into two groups: group 1 and group 2. Group 1 received pursed lip breathing exercise and group 2 receiveddiaphragmatic breathing exercise for 8 weeks. To check the normality of data distribution shiparo wilk test was applied. FVC and FEV1 by FVC at baseline shows p values more than 0.05. Data was normally distributed so parametric tests were applied. Paired sample T test for comparison within group which shows p values less than 0.05. Independent sample T Test for comparison between groups which shows p values greater than 0.05. Evaluation of exercise frequency and pulmonary function was measured by counting the number of exercises performed, modifiedborg scale and spirometry (FVC,FEV1, FEV1/FVC) Data was analyzed by SPSS version 24 for this study. Results: there was no significant difference between the effects of pursed lip breathing and diaphragmatic breathing exercises on pulmonary function and exercise frequency. Conclusion: Both interventions were equally effective. Keywords: Pulmonary, Obstructive, Breathing Exercise, Tolerance, Rehabilitation, Respiratory mechanics.

Cross-linguistic perception of Spanish intonation by Chinese speakers: Effects of linguistic experience and prosodic features

This study aims to explore the cross-linguistic perception of Spanish intonation patterns and the role of linguistic experience and prosodic features in identifying the question-statement contrasts. To this end, 43 Spanish native listeners and 75 Chinese learners of Spanish were presented with auditory stimuli in a gating paradigm for the recognition of sentence types. The results showed that listeners’ perception of target intonational contours was highly dependent on their language experience. Although Spanish listeners outperformed Chinese learners in perceiving different intonational cues, most Chinese learners were able to correctly identify sentence types after hearing the initial F0 peak due to the positive transfer of their tonal processing ability in their native language. In addition, our data revealed that the position of the final stressed syllable might also be a relevant factor for discriminating the sentence type depending on the length of the utterance. Overall, the findings seem to suggest a complex integration mechanism for cross-linguistic intonation perception, in which listeners’ language specificity and the prosodic structures of the materials should be accounted for evaluating non-native auditory performance.

LEXICAL AND POST-LEXICAL PROSODIC DOCUMENTATION OF EMBALOH LANGUAGE

This research investigated the prosody of the Embaloh language, which has yet to be widely explored, to document and preserve the language. The method used is data collection of spontaneous and non-spontaneous speeches from 12 native speakers. Prosodic analysis was then carried out based on visualising and observing speech sound waves using the autosegmental-metrical theory (AM) framework. The results show that prominence tends to be on the right edge at both lexical and post-lexical prosodic levels. The findings show that the Embaloh language is outside the mainstream of Austronesian languages, which places word stress at the penultimate syllable. At the post-lexical level in interrogative intonation, phrases with a question word are marked by the pitch accent located at the target question word in the nuclear contour of the phrase. The pitch accent follows the position of the question word in the intonation phrase, forward or backward, with one of the following tones: H* (high), LH* (low-high), or LHL* (low-high-low). The intonation of the question is indicated by the H(high) tone at the end of the phrase. The H (high) tone also acts as a boundary tone represented by H*% (high).

Investigating the variation of intonation contours in Northern Vietnamese tones

Intonation is an instrument for structuring discourse and emphasizing different types of information. In German, for example, pitch is used to highlight focus, while in Vietnamese, different pitch contours distinguish lexical tones. As of yet, the interplay between intonation and lexical tone in relation to information structure has not been sufficiently investigated across languages. Vietnamese has six lexical tones and is particularly interesting for investigating the influence of different intonation strategies on the realization of tones. Here, we present a production study with 70 Northern Vietnamese speakers. The participants read six sentences under two conditions. In each sentence, a word occurring in the final position of the sentence and carrying one of the six tones was pronounced in two different discourse contexts. Acoustic analyses of the intonation contours showed that Vietnamese speakers realized the words with significant differences in pitch at the onset. Yet, the strategies for raising or lowering the pitch varied depending on the tone. Our results show the use of prosodic cues in a complex tone system across a large number of speakers. In addition, the study can serve as a starting point for educational programs that include training on intonation patterns in specific contexts.

Auditory Processing of Intonational Rises and Falls in German: Rises Are Special in Attention Orienting.

This article investigates the processing of intonational rises and falls when presented unexpectedly in a stream of repetitive auditory stimuli. It examines the neurophysiological correlates (ERPs) of attention to these unexpected stimuli through the use of an oddball paradigm where sequences of repetitive stimuli are occasionally interspersed with a deviant stimulus, allowing for elicitation of an MMN. Whereas previous oddball studies on attention toward unexpected sounds involving pitch rises were conducted on nonlinguistic stimuli, the present study uses as stimuli lexical items in German with naturalistic intonation contours. Results indicate that rising intonation plays a special role in attention orienting at a pre-attentive processing stage, whereas contextual meaning (here a list of items) is essential for activating attentional resources at a conscious processing stage. This is reflected in the activation of distinct brain responses: Rising intonation evokes the largest MMN, whereas falling intonation elicits a less pronounced MMN followed by a P3 (reflecting a conscious processing stage). Subsequently, we also find a complex interplay between the phonological status (i.e., accent/head marking vs. boundary/edge marking) and the direction of pitch change in their contribution to attention orienting: Attention is not oriented necessarily toward a specific position in prosodic structure (head or edge). Rather, we find that the intonation contour itself and the appropriateness of the contour in the linguistic context are the primary cues to two core mechanisms of attention orienting, pre-attentive and conscious orientation respectively, whereas the phonological status of the pitch event plays only a supplementary role.

The Role of Suprasegmental Features in English Phonology: Prosodic Hierarchy and Intonation Patterns

This study explores the significance of suprasegmental features in English phonology, focusing on prosodic hierarchy and intonation patterns. The analysis delves into how these features play a crucial role in structuring spoken language, particularly in conveying nuances, emotions, and pragmatic information. The study highlights the importance of understanding suprasegmental features in enhancing speaking proficiency in English and their relevance to English language curriculum development. Further research opportunities in English phonology, such as investigating other suprasegmental features and adopting an interdisciplinary approach, are suggested to deepen the understanding of English phonological structures and improve the quality of teaching speaking skills in English. This study emphasizes the valuable insights gained from a deeper understanding of the role of suprasegmental features in English phonology for teaching, research, and overall understanding of oral language

Effect of 12-week head-down strong abdominal breathing on cognitive function in patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a single-centre randomised controlled trial protocol

BackgroundPatients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) often suffer from a combination of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and a significant reduction in their quality of life. In the exercise programme of pulmonary rehabilitation (PR), pulmonary rehabilitation intervention is often carried out by enhancing respiratory function. Strong abdominal breathing is a kind of breathing method, through which the diaphragm can be exercised, thereby enhancing the deflection distance of the diaphragm during breathing and improving respiratory function. The inversion trainer can meet the different angles of head-down training and also has the characteristics of low cost, easy to operate, and use a wide range of scenarios. According to currently available data, strong abdominal breathing in combination with head-down position has not yet been used in pulmonary rehabilitation in this type of rehabilitation programme. It is valuable to use this device to study PR of cognitive function in patients with COPD.MethodsThis study was a 12-week single-centre randomised controlled trial and blinding the assessors and data processors of the test. Recruitment is planned for January 1, 2024. It is expected that 81 patients with stable COPD combined with MCI will be recruited and randomly assigned to the head-down strong abdominal breathing group (HG), the fitness qigong eight-duanjin group (BDJ), and the control group (CG) in a 1:1:1 ratio. Using fNIRS (functional near-infrared spectroscopy) to assess brain oxygen availability before and after pulmonary rehabilitation in three periods: before, during and after the intervention. Cognitive functioning is also assessed using the Overall Cognitive Assessment Scale, the Specific Cognitive Functioning Assessment Scale and the Cognitive Behavioural Ability Test.Trial registrationThe Specialised Committee on Scientific Research and Academic Ethics of the Academic Committee of Anqing Normal University approved the project (ANU2023001). China Clinical Trial Registry approved the study (ChiCTR2300075400) with a registration date of 2023/09/04.DiscussionThe aim of this study was to explore novel exercise rehabilitation methods to improve cognitive function in COPD patients. It results in a lower financial burden and higher participation in pulmonary rehabilitation and improves the quality of survival of patients with COPD.

Common Pronunciation Errors among Vietnamese Learners of English from Phonological Perspectives

This study investigates the phonological challenges encountered by Vietnamese learners of English and explores the strategies employed to address these challenges. A mixed-methods approach was employed, comprising a quantitative survey administered to 152 participants and semi-structured interviews conducted with a subset of 7 participants. Quantitative analysis of survey data revealed perceived difficulty levels for various phonological aspects of English pronunciation, with reconciling spelling and pronunciation emerging as the most challenging aspect. Qualitative interviews provided deeper insights into learners' experiences, highlighting additional phonological challenges such as distinguishing between vowel sounds and mastering intonation patterns. Participants reported employing a range of strategies, including regular practice, utilization of resources, and participation in interactive learning experiences, to address pronunciation difficulties. The implications of this research are twofold. Firstly, it contributes to a comprehensive understanding of the complexities surrounding English pronunciation learning among Vietnamese learners. Secondly, the identified strategies offer valuable insights for language teaching and support. Educators can tailor their teaching approaches to address the specific phonological challenges highlighted in this study, fostering more effective English pronunciation acquisition among Vietnamese learners. Additionally, the findings underscore the importance of providing diverse learning resources and opportunities for interactive practice to enhance pronunciation skills. These implications not only enrich our understanding of language acquisition processes but also have practical implications for educators, curriculum developers, and language learners alike.

Automatic intonational contour clustering in Patwin

This study uses automated methods from Contour Clustering (Kaland 2021) to identify seven common intonational patterns in Patwin, an understudied Wintuan language of Northern California that survives via archival recordings. Only two phonetic or phonological analyses currently exist for Patwin (Lawyer 2015, 2021). This study finds that all seven contours suggested by Contour Clustering are attested in word-list elicitation, demonstrating a remarkable diversity of intonational types. In so doing, this study challenges claims made in Shafer (1961) that Patwin has lexical tone. Though the results are generally successful, Contour Clustering is not robust to the effects of poor recording quality on pitch tracking and subsequent cluster assignment. In general, this study indicates that using automated methods in tandem with a more phonologically grounded method of analysis such as PaToBI (Silverman et al. 1992; Björklund 2024) is fruitful for facilitating working with large amounts of archival data. This study adds to our limited understanding of Wintuan intonation, suggesting new intonation types for future investigation.

A relevance-theoretic analysis of Colloquial Singapore English hor

A relevance-theoretic analysis of Colloquial Singapore English <i>hor</i>

Phrase boundaries lacking word prosody: An articulatory investigation of Seoul Korean.

This electromagnetic articulography study explores the kinematic profile of Intonational Phrase boundaries in Seoul Korean. Recent findings suggest that the scope of phrase-final lengthening is conditioned by word- and/or phrase-level prominence. However, evidence comes mainly from head-prominence languages, which conflate positions of word prosody with positions of phrasal prominence. Here, we examine phrase-final lengthening in Seoul Korean, an edge-prominence language with no word prosody, with respect to focus location as an index of phrase-level prominence and Accentual Phrase (AP) length as an index of word demarcation. Results show that phrase-final lengthening extends over the phrase-final syllable. The effect is greater the further away that focus occurs. It also interacts with the domains of AP and prosodic word: lengthening is greater in smaller APs, whereas shortening is observed in the initial gesture of the phrase-final word. Additional analyses of kinematic displacement and peak velocity revealed that Korean phrase-final gestures bear the kinematic profile of IP boundaries concurrently to what is typically considered prominence marking. Based on these results, a gestural coordination account is proposed, in which boundary-related events interact systematically with phrase-level prominence as well as lower prosodic levels, and how this proposal relates to the findings in head-prominence languages is discussed.

Language Processing Units Are Not Equivalent to Sentences: Evidence from Writing Tasks in Typical and Dyslexic Children

Despite recent research on the building blocks of language processing, the nature of the units involved in the production of written texts remains elusive: intonation units, which are evidenced by empirical results across a growing body of work, are not suitable for writing, where the sentence remains the common reference. Drawing on the analysis of the writing product and process, our study explores how children with and without dyslexia handle sentences. The children were asked to write a short story and the writing process was recorded using keystroke logging software (Inputlog 7 &amp; 8). We measured the number of pauses, the nature of the language sequences segmented by pauses, and the revision operations performed throughout the process. We analyzed sentences both in product and process. Our results showed that both the written product and the writing process reflect the establishment of a syntactic schema during language processing in typical children, in line with the first functional step in processing. This was not clearly evidenced in the case of dyslexic children, due to their limited production: beyond spelling, syntactic elaboration was also affected. In contrast, it appeared that the units of language processing cannot be equated with sentences in writing: the information flow is produced through usually smaller bursts that each carry part of the meaning or correspond to a specific operation of text crafting and revision.

Discursive characteristics of negative manipulative communicative demonstrativeness

The article is devoted to the concept definition of negative manipulative communicative demonstrativeness and the identification its implementation means in speech. In the course of the work, the interdisciplinary approach and the method of psycholinguistic analysis of the communicants’ speech output were used. The material for the analysis was the characters’ statements from Russian literature of the XIX century. It is established that the negative manipulative communicative demonstrativeness is a tonality of communication characterized by exaggerated negative self-presentation in the process of self-explanation, accentuation of the dominant destructive emotion, implemented to benefit from the recipient expressed by means of semiotic polymodality. The study shows that the negative manipulative communicative demonstrativeness performs attractive, expressive, influencing, entertaining, pragmatic and conative functions, implements communicative strategies of self-pity, outrage, foolishness, buffoonery, self-abasement and self-flagellation. Linguistic means of expressing this tonality are revealed: metaphorical litota, synecdoche with negative connotation, increasing negative gradation, intensifying particles-phraseological units of religious content, negative adjectives in a diminutive form, emotive interjections with the component «God», prayerful ritual utterances, rhetorical questions, antithesis (self-pity); paradox with negative connotative meaning, enhanced antithesis (shocking); negative hyperbolic tropes, reiteration, exclamation sentences (foolishness); hyperbolic comparison (buffoonery); negative epithets and prosodic units, including a quiet voice, speech with pressure, an elevated tone and frequent pausing (self-abasement); negative nouns, imperative sentences and cliched phrases with negative connotation (self-flagellation). The paralinguistic means of actualizing this tonality are indicated: phonational and kinetic demonstratives. The scientific novelty of the research is determined by the unexplored nature of the phenomenon under consideration.

Intonation of polar questions in German-dominant heritage speakers of Italian

Abstract In heritage language (HL) research, prosodic aspects of heritage speakers (HSs) speech have only recently started to receive attention and the results have been mixed. While some studies report cross-linguistic influence (CLI) for HL intonation, others consider it robust. The present study contributes to this debate and examines the intonational patterns of polar questions (PolQs) in the two languages of 30 HSs of Italian with German as majority language. This language combination displays overlapping and distinct intonational patterns in PolQs, making intonation potentially subject to CLI in bilingual language acquisition. The results of an elicited production task indicate that HSs maintain a systemic difference between their two languages. In German, HSs produce PolQs in a monolingual like manner. In Italian of HSs, both monolingual-like performance and CLI from German has been observed. Early Italian use is beneficial for monolingual-like outcomes in the HL.

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) and slow breathing interventions alleviate premature ejaculation (PE) symptoms

BackgroundPhysical exercise may alleviate premature ejaculation symptoms, a prevalent male sexual dysfunction linked to a series of negative outcomes for men and their partners. ObjectiveWe investigated the effectiveness of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and slow breathing interventions on premature ejaculation symptoms and their relation to autonomic activity and attention regulation. MethodChinese adult men (N = 76, M = 21.89, SD = 3.32) with premature ejaculation completed one of the two-week interventions in their homes or as participants in a normal breathing control group; they reported their age, height, weight, physical activity level, premature ejaculation symptoms, and attention regulation. In the HIIT group, 26 participants engaged in a 7-minute HIIT each day. In the slow breathing group, 25 participants performed 7-minute slow breathing exercises per day while the 25 participants in the normal breathing group similarly performed normal breathing exercises. All participants measured their heart rate once before and five times (with one-minute intervals) after the intervention. When participants had penile-vaginal sex with their partners, they measured their heart rate once after ejaculation. ResultsTime × Intervention interaction was significant with lower levels of premature ejaculation symptoms on Days 12, 13, and 14 in the HIIT group (M ± SD = 16.19 ± 3.45, 15.96 ± 3.43, and 15.15 ± 3.62) compared to the normal breathing group (M ± SD = 17.68 ± 3.06, 17.68 ± 3.15, and 17.44 ± 3.25). Higher levels of attention regulation were associated with fewer premature ejaculation symptoms. We also found that a larger increase in heart rate from resting to after sex was associated with fewer premature ejaculation symptoms. ConclusionCompared to the control group, the efficacy of two weeks of HIIT exercise in mitigating PE symptoms suggests its potential as a novel treatment for PE.

Contrastive Study of Tone and Intonation in Koro Ashe and English

This paper undertakes a contrastive study of tone and intonation in Koro Ashe and English; an implication for Koro Ashe L2 learners of English with the hope of helping the study populace to improve in their spoken aspect of English. The sample consisted of 20 randomly selected Koro Ashe ESL learners of English in Karu Local Government, Nasarawa State. The instrument used in collecting data for this investigation is Oral Production Test (OPT), a pronunciation test that assessed the participants’ pronunciations of Koro Ashe words. The theoretical framework used in the paper was Contrastive Analysis (CA). The results showed that Koro Ashe is a tonal language and that tone in Koro Ashe is capable of performing lexical functions as it is demonstrated in words like [ìnȧk] L-L ‘cow’ and [inak] L-H ‘sp tree’, [iwei] L-L ‘toad’ and [iwei] L- H ‘fear’. Tone in Koro Ashe can perform grammatical function, that is, changing singular nouns to the plural as it is seen in words; [inak] (L-L) ‘cow’ and [inak] (H-H) ‘cows’, [inor] ‘wound’ (L-L) and [inor] ‘wounds’ (H-H), [imai] ‘generation’ (L-L) and [imai] ‘generations’ (H-H), [iguk] ‘pocket’ (L-L) and [iguk] (H-H) ‘pockets’, [iʤu] ‘fly’ (L-L) and [iʤu] ‘flies’ (H-H). However in English, intonation (pitch) in English conveys information of a broadly meaningful nature, it can be used to express attitudes, interest, doubt, emphasis, certainty, politeness, mark boundaries of syntactic units, signals division of utterances into intonation phrases, signals end of statement, signals “old” information and “new” information etc.